ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT FOR INCREASED RYAN WHITE CARE ACT TITLE I FUNDING FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS AND LATINOS
We, the undersigned Asians and Pacific Islanders, express our solidarity and support for increased Ryan White CARE Act Title I funding for African Americans and Latinos. We understand that Congress appropriated an additional $5 million in Fiscal Year 1999 for Eligible Metropolitan Areas (EMA) where the percentage of reported HIV/AIDS cases among African Americans and Latinos exceed 30% of all cases in that EMA. As leaders in HIV prevention and services in our own Asian and Pacific Islander communities, we want to add our support for this increased funding for African American and Latino communities most heavily impacted by HIV and AIDS. We do so not to overlook or minimize the need for similar resources for HIV and AIDS prevention and services in our Asian and Pacific Islander communities but because we believe that refocusing government and public attention and resources on HIV and AIDS in communities of color will benefit all our communities and the nation's public health.
In particular, we strongly believe that increased funding and resources for HIV prevention and client services that are culturally and linguistically appropriate are vital for their success in all communities. We also strongly support the specific focus on HIV prevention, care, treatment and support services for gay men at risk for HIV and AIDS. Nationally, nearly 70% of the AIDS cases being reported in our Asian and Pacific and Islander communities are among gay and bisexual Asian and Pacific Islander men. At the same time, we support the development and implementation of targeted programs for women, youth, transgender individuals, recent immigrants and refugees and other populations at highest risk for HIV and AIDS. We also support the increased coordination and linkage between HIV prevention and treatment programs and substance abuse and mental health services. Finally, we strongly support a comprehensive plan, accompanied by sufficient government funding, to conduct both clinical and behavioral research through research projects that are based in the community and involve community agencies and researchers of color as partners.
HIV/AIDS has long been a crisis in our communities of color. We share and join the urgency of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Department of Health and Human Services in their efforts to focus renewed government and public attention on HIV/AIDS in communities of color. Many in our communities have still not received basic HIV prevention interventions that are culturally appropriate and effective. Those who are living with HIV and AIDS in our communities continue to face cultural, linguistic, social, economic, political and legal barriers to accessing care and services. As Asians and Pacific Islanders, we continue to support these efforts to make real and substantive changes and significantly increase the investments by our federal, state and local governments and by the public in HIV and AIDS prevention and care that will effectively reach our communities.
Signed,
Puaalaokalani D. Aiu, Papa Ola Lokahi, Honolulu, HI
Joy Alumit, Asian Health Services, Oakland, CA
Eric J.C. Astacaan, Sacramento, CA
Rene Astudillo, San Francisco, CA
Daniel Bao, Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center, San Francisco, CA
Ignatius Bau, Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, San Francisco, CA
Virginia Bourassa, National Minority AIDS Council, Washington, D.C.
Sean Bui, AIDS Services in Asian Communities, Philadelphia, PA
Kevin R. Conare, ActionAIDS, Philadelphia, PA
Chwee Lye Chng, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
S. Patrick Chong, Department of Community Health, Lansing, MI
Prescott Chow, Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, San Francisco, CA
Vincent Crisostomo, Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center and Gay Asian Pacific Alliance, San Francisco, CA
Aurora S. Cudal, Council of Philippine American Organizations of San Diego County, San Diego, CA
Quang H. Dang, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, San Francisco, CA
Gem P. Daus, National Minority AIDS Council, Washington, D.C.
Trang Duong, Anchorage, AK
Heng L. Foong, Pacific Asian Language Services, Los Angeles, CA
Kevin Fong, Banbridge Island, WA
Jaime Geaga, Los Angeles, CA
Diosdado Gica, San Francisco, CA
Dean M. Goishi, Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team, Los Angeles, CA
Agnes Harley, Philadelphia FIGHT, Philadelphia, PA
Gayle Isa, Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia, PA
Ezer Kang, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA
Paul Akio Kawata, National Minority AIDS Council, Washington, D.C.
John B. Kim, Life Foundation, Honolulu, HI
Sam Keohavong, Texas Health Resources, Arlington, TX
Kiyoshi Kuromiya, Critical Path AIDS Project, Philadelphia, PA
Samantha P. Lam, East Dallas Counseling Center, Dallas, TX
Teresa Lau, Massachusetts Asian AIDS Prevention Project, Boston, MA
Steve Lew, President's Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS, San Francisco, CA
Richard C. Liu, Philadelphia, PA
Steven W. Louie, AIDS Services in Asian Communities, Philadelphia, PA
Andrew Ma, Asian Pacific Health Care Venture, Los Angeles, CA
John Manzon-Santos, Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center, San Francisco, CA
Gilda Martinez, Operation Samahan, National City, CA
Kim-Leiloni Nguyen, San Diego, CA
Ernest G. Ong, Alhambra, CA
Billy Pick, Department of Public Health, San Francisco, CA
Shameer Poonja, Massachusetts Asian AIDS Prevention Project, Boston, MA
Suki Terada Ports, Family Health Project, New York, NY
Aurora C. Puliclo, North County Health Services, San Marcos, CA
Therese R. Rodriguez, Asian and Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS, New York, NY
Merina Sapolu, Kokua Kalihi Valley Health Center, Honolulu, HI
Joel H. San Juan, Operation Samahan, National City, CA
Jess San Roque, Asian and Pacific Islander Community AIDS Project, San Diego, CA
Antonio Salas, Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, San Francisco, CA
Lina Sheth, Massachusetts Asian AIDS Prevention Project, Boston, MA
Janet Soo Hoo, Asian Counseling and Referral Service, Seattle, WA
Francisco S. Sy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Ronald T. Sy, AIDS Services in Asian Communities, Philadelphia, PA
Paul Tamura, Queer and Asian, Seattle, WA
Joel B. Tan, Asian Health Services, Oakland, CA
Shalini C. Vallabhan, National Minority AIDS Council, Washington, D.C.
Frank Y. Wong, The Fortune Society, New York, NY
Jason Yaris, Malama Pono: The HIV Service Agency of Kauai, Kapaa, HI
Gust A. Yep, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
Garrett Yoshida, National Minority AIDS Council, Washington, D.C.
Dated: January 13, 1999
58 signatories from 10 states and DC
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